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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178157">This is Platonic, Right?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraMota/pseuds/SakuraMota'>SakuraMota</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:33:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,450</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178157</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraMota/pseuds/SakuraMota</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Oh, that?  No, that’s just how Teach and I say good-bye.  It’s totally platonic.”  Hilda’s arched eyebrow indicated she found this assertion dubious.  “It is!  Honestly, I don’t know where you got the wild idea that Teach and I are a couple.  We’re just friends, that’s all.”</p><p>    Hilda’s hand covered her eyes for a moment, and she inhaled slowly with a muttered, “Oh boy…”  Collecting herself, she paced the gap between them and slid into the chair previously occupied by Byleth.  “Claude.  Honey.  Mr. von Riegan.”</p><p>    “...Yes?” he said, eyeing her skeptically.</p><p>    Her eyes locked with his, suddenly intense.  “That’s not something platonic friends do.”</p><p> </p><p>Featured in the 2020 zine, "Golden Dearest"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>164</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>This is Platonic, Right?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>We finally got the okay to post our full pieces from the zine, Golden Dearest!  I was so humbled to be apart of this amazing project!</p><p>I based my piece on the many instances I experienced playing VW where Claude would say something to Byleth, and I would instantly remark, "Claude, that does <i>not</i> sound platonic!"  xD  So please enjoy an oblivious Claude who is new at friendships and figuring out the boundaries between platonic and romantic.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> This is Platonic, Right? </em>
</p><p>A Fire Emblem: Three Houses Story</p><p> </p><p>    It started out innocently, as most things did.  After all, Claude spent so much time with Byleth, planning and budgeting and everything else in between, that it was only natural the personal space between them shrank.  Reaching over one another to grab a report or a quill, ducking under an arm or resting a chin on a shoulder to view a map together, leaning into each other for comfort during stressful moments—one by one, the walls came down between them, to the point hardly any remained at all.  In all honesty, Claude liked it that way.  He’d never really had friends growing up in Almyra, but here in Fódlan, he had no shortage of them, Teach chiefest amongst them.  It felt warm and safe, if only a little vulnerable, but he found it didn’t bother him as much if it was Byleth.  He trusted her, and she, him.</p><p>    It was no surprise, then, to find them toiling over a map at an ungodly hour, squeezed together on a couch on the library’s second floor.  To the outside observer, they looked like a cozy couple, Byleth’s hand against his chest and her leg draped over his, Claude’s arm hooked under her neck to hold the map before them and his cheek pressed against her crown.  To them, of course, the position was functional, the most ideal way to view the map together for their late-night, drowsy strategy planning.  Completely platonic, nothing more, nothing less.  So what if the proximity felt wonderful?  So what if Byleth tucked into his side like she belonged there, and he selfishly enjoyed the private time with her?  They were friends, after all, and close friends just did these sorts of things, didn’t they?  Not that he had anything to compare their friendship to, but all he knew was it felt <em> right </em> to be like this together, so why question it?</p><p>    Byleth stretched her body into a long line and released the act with a loud sigh, her limbs flopping limp over Claude again.  “I’m tired of looking at this,” she announced with languid indifference, nuzzling further into his neck.</p><p>    Chuckling lightly, Claude tossed the map aside, where it fluttered to the floor.  “Me too,” he sighed, wrapping his arms around her.  “We can look at it again in the morning,” he said through a yawn, resettling his cheek against her.  He shut his eyes, his thumb absently tracing lazy, feather-light patterns against the bare skin of her arm.  They lay in silence for a moment, long enough that he drifted just a bit before Byleth’s words snapped him back to consciousness.</p><p>    “We should probably head to bed.”</p><p>    “N...Nn, yeah, probably,” Claude said, yawning again.  “I’ll walk you back, Teach.”</p><p>    Disentangling, they gathered their stray belongings and headed toward the commoner dormitories.  The absence of warmth at his side bothered him, though, so he slung a companionable arm around her shoulders.  To his relief, Byleth happily leaned into him, her own arm wrapping around his back and holding loosely at his hip.  Cheerful, idle conversation filled the void of the trek, and as the pair arrived at Byleth’s doorstep in disappointingly short time, he felt a twinge of lament for the end of their time together.</p><p>    “I’ll come by with coffee in the morning so we can finish our strategy before breakfast,” Byleth said as she stood in the open doorway to her room.</p><p>    “Promise you’ll make mine right this time?” Claude teased with a wink.</p><p>    She tsked and shook her head.  “Black is the way you're <em> supposed </em> to drink coffee,” she said, expression deadpan.  “Anything else is unnecessary.”</p><p>    “Well, some of us add cream and sugar because we love ourselves, Teach.”</p><p>    Sighing, she grinned at him.  “Don’t worry, I’ll ruin it just how you like it.”</p><p>    “You really spoil me, you know?” he said, cheeks dimpling.</p><p>    “Yes yes,” she said with a dismissive wave, leaning her shoulder into the doorframe.  For a moment, they stood in companionable silence, beaming at each other in the faint glow of the moonlight.  Just as the lull turned awkward, Byleth inhaled deeply, her jaw tensing.  Stepping closer, she softly said, “Good night, Claude,” as her fingers grazed his arm, her toes lifting her upward.</p><p>    The brush of her lips against his cheek was so delicate that he almost didn’t recognize it for what it was, only piecing it together when she backed away.  He blinked, chest swelling with searing warmth, and in his stupor, she almost slipped into the room and shut the door in his face.  Instinctively, he grabbed her wrist, which made her turn, and with a grin, Claude bent in to reciprocate, his lips cool against the radiant heat of her cheek.  “Good night, Byleth.”</p><p>    As he strolled away, hands in his pockets and an absent-minded tune in his throat, Claude reflected on the moment with a broad smile.</p><p>    Yeah.  Friendship was nice.</p><p>    The act became their routine method of departure in the days that followed: whenever they parted, they exchanged a quick peck on the cheek and a tender smile before they separated.  Each time it occured, Claude felt lighter, an inescapable grin splitting his face, and he tackled his next task with chipper industry.  He cherished their friendship so much.</p><p>    “I’ll ask Seteth about resources for your scheme, Claude; I’m late for a meeting with him, anyway,” Byleth said as she stood from her seat beside him at the long table in the war council room.</p><p>    “Oof, keeping him waiting on my account?  You’re a brave woman, Teach,” Claude said with an impish grin.</p><p>    “Yes, well, you always tend to keep me long,” she said, straightening her documents on the table.  “Not that I mind,” she added, turning to him.  Bracing herself on the table, she leaned to smooch his cheek as usual, answered immediately with his exchanged caress.  They stared into each other's eyes a moment afterward, her fingers loosely holding his chin and her thumb stroking a few affections against it, her grin fond.  “I’ll see you at dinner,” she said with a final brush.</p><p>    “I’ll save you a seat,” Claude said with a wave as she traipsed out of the room.  Humming to himself, he picked up his quill again, scanning the page for his place.</p><p>    “...<em> What was that?? </em>”</p><p>    Startled, Claude’s head whipped up, searching the room for the speaker.  Hilda stood at the other end of the table, a book tucked to her chest, gaping open-mouthed at him.  “Hilda!  Gods, you scared the...when did you get there??” Claude fumbled, mirroring her expression.</p><p>    “I came in to get the book I left after the war counsel,” she said, indicating the tome in her hand.</p><p>    “I don’t...why don’t I remember that?” he said, visibly flummoxed.</p><p>    “You both looked up from your work and said, ‘Oh, hello, Hilda,’” she said, eyebrows knitting a line.  “It was quite literally two minutes ago.”</p><p>    “Right, okay, I get it,” Claude said, hiding his flushed face in his hands.</p><p>    “But don’t ignore my question!  Spill!  What was that??”</p><p>    “What was what?” he asked, frowning quizzically at her.</p><p>    “<em> That! </em>” she repeated, waving the book toward the doorway.</p><p>    Claude followed her indication and then turned back to her.  “Teach leaving?  She said she had a meeting.”</p><p>    “But just before that,” Hilda said, a testy impatience rising in her voice, “what was <em> that? </em>”</p><p>    “I...I’m afraid I don’t follow?”</p><p>    “<em> Claude von Riegan. </em>”</p><p>    “What?” he said, hands gesturing his confusion.</p><p>    “<em> How dare you start dating Professor B and not tell me about it. </em>”</p><p>    His jaw fell, and he blinked several times, dumbstruck.  “I...Wh...What are you talking about?  Teach and I aren’t dating.”</p><p>    “Then what’s with the kissing, lover boy?” Hilda said, arms crossing her chest.</p><p>    Chuckling with relief, Claude smoothed a hand over his hair in nervous reflex.  “Oh, <em> that? </em>  No, that’s just how Teach and I say good-bye.  It’s totally platonic.”  Hilda’s arched eyebrow indicated she found this assertion dubious.  “It is!  Honestly, I don’t know where you got the wild idea that Teach and I are a couple.  We’re just friends, that’s all.”</p><p>    Hilda’s hand covered her eyes for a moment, and she inhaled slowly with a muttered, “<em> Oh boy </em>…”  Collecting herself, she paced the gap between them and slid into the chair previously occupied by Byleth.  “Claude.  Honey.  Mr. von Riegan.”</p><p>    “...Yes?” he said, eyeing her skeptically.</p><p>    Her eyes locked with his, suddenly intense.  “That’s not something platonic friends do.”</p><p>    “Sure they do,” he said, frowning.  “Or they can, at least.  No reason why they shouldn’t.”</p><p>    “Okay,” Hilda said, leg crossing her knee and fingers lacing atop it.  “You and I are good friends, right?”</p><p>    “Yes…”</p><p>    “So go ahead and kiss me the same way,” she said, offering her cheek to him.</p><p>    “...”</p><p>    “...You’d feel weird about it, wouldn’t you?”</p><p>    “Maybe…” he admitted, expression souring.  “But it’s different with Teach.  Our friendship is different from the one you and I have.”</p><p>    “Yeah, because you’re in love with her,” Hilda said, leaning back in her chair.</p><p>    “I am not!”</p><p>    “Claude.  You have tea with her every Sunday,” she said, listing on her fingers.</p><p>    “It’s a rest day, and we take a moment to breathe before the week ahead,” Claude countered.</p><p>    “You sit together at every meal.”</p><p>    “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re at war, Hilda, and Teach and I kind of run things around here,” he said, eyebrow arched.  “It makes sense that we’d work through meals.”</p><p>    “You stare at her during meetings with a goofy smile when you think no one’s looking,” Hilda continued, leering at him.</p><p>    “I do n—do I?” he said.  His shoulders slumped, pondering for a moment.  “I...It’s not on purpose…”</p><p>    “Every time I turn around, one of you is touching the other.  Leaning, arm linking, shoulder rubbing, handholding, hugging.  The list goes on.”</p><p>    “I...<em> so? </em>”  Claude snapped, heat rising in his cheeks.</p><p>    “You were always her favorite during our Academy days.”</p><p>    Claude swallowed, voice growing weaker with each response.  “I...I was?”</p><p>    “<em> Like you didn’t know, you moron, </em>” Hilda hissed, glaring daggers at him.</p><p>    “But that still doesn’t—”</p><p>    “<em> Claude </em> .  You have it <em> bad </em> for Professor B, and you’ve <em> had </em> it bad since the very beginning,” she said, an almost sympathetic tilt in her furrowed brow.</p><p>    “No I do n...you’re just taking things out of context...It’s not like...I mean, it’s just…”   </p><p>    Folding her arms across her chest, Hilda sighed.  “Use your words, honey.”</p><p>    Claude stared down at the document in front of him, eyes unfocused as his brain clicked into alignment.  “...<em> Oh gods, you’re right. </em>”</p><p>    “I usually am,” Hilda said, patting his shoulder.</p><p>    How had he been so oblivious this whole time?  To be fair, he hadn’t had friends growing up, so he in turn hadn’t dated anyone, either.  Still, how did he miss it?  When did he fall?  Regardless, Hilda was correct: that warm, content, fluttery excitement he felt around Byleth was most definitely love.  The more he thought about it, the more sense it made.</p><p>However, that revelation came with a new host of worries: he second-guessed every move, every gesture around her the rest of the evening.  He even ducked his head when Byleth attempted to kiss his cheek at dinner, burying himself in his plate as an excuse.  The drop in his stomach when she frowned but ultimately took her seat across from him killed the remainder of his appetite, though, so he stuck to business discussion.  It was obvious something was wrong, though, and when he intentionally laid the map between them at their usual couch meeting, Byleth addressed it.</p><p>    “Are you okay, Claude?” she asked, tilting her head a bit.</p><p>    Claude tensed, swallowing.  “Who, me?  I’m fine.  Never better.  Why do you ask?”</p><p>    “You’ve seemed a bit...off since dinner,” she said, setting her budgeting aside on the floor.  “Distracted.  Did something happen?”</p><p>    “Nope, nothing happened, everything’s fine, Teach.  Everything’s…”  He trailed off, skewing his frown in thought.  Eh, what the hells.  Teach would probably be good natured about it.  “Actually, I had an interesting conversation with Hilda today after you left for your meeting with Seteth.”</p><p>    “Oh?” Byleth asked, shifting attentively.  “Interesting how?”</p><p>    Grinning weakly, he scratched the back of his palm to steady his hands.  “It’s...It’s the strangest thing, Teach,” he said, swallowing the nervousness in his voice.  “Hilda seems to think that you and I...well, because of the way we are with one another...that we’re...dating.”  He brushed it off with a laugh.  “Crazy, huh?”</p><p>    Byleth paused, blinking at him with a blank expression.  “But...we’ve been...dating for almost two moons now, haven’t we?” she asked, frown troubled.</p><p>    Claude’s jaw dropped.  “W...Wait, what?”</p><p>    “All of this,” Byleth continued, concern growing on her face, “the cuddling, the handholding, the cheek kissing...those are things couples do, Claude.  I may be inexperienced with this sort of thing, but I at least know what a romantic relationship looks like.  We’ve never said anything about it, but I thought that...I thought it was obvious that we were…”</p><p>    Brain restarting, Claude opened and closed his mouth a few times before he spoke.  “I just thought it was all...platonic, you know?”</p><p>    “But...what about the other night?” Byleth said, a desperate tilt in her voice.  “It was storming out, so you said I could spend the night in your room instead of braving the weather.”  She gaped at him, clearly hurt.  “We...We <em> spooned </em>, Claude.  How could you possibly think that was platonic?”</p><p>    “I mean, it <em> was </em> raining, and I like being the little spoon, so…” he said, avoiding eye contact.</p><p>    A hand raised to Byleth’s forehead, and she turned.  “Wow.  I...I think I need to go...reevaluate some things,” she said, rising to her feet.  “G...Good night, Claude.”</p><p>    “Byleth, wait!” Claude said, standing and grabbing her shoulder.  She faced him with pain in her eyes, and he swallowed.  “I’m an idiot,” he said.  “The biggest idiot in all of Fódlan.  I mistook our relationship as friendship, because honestly, I’m…”  He softened, eyes meeting hers.  “I’m not exactly experienced with this sort of thing, either.  But you know,” he said, cupping her cheek with a wobbly grin, “I wouldn't mind figuring it out with you, if you want.”</p><p>    Byleth looked up at him, and a slow smile tugged the corners of her mouth.  “I’d like that.”</p><p>    As lidded gazes softly melted into lips meeting, Claude wondered why he hadn’t done this sooner.  Ah well.  They’d laugh about it years from now, and as one kiss led to two and beyond, he hoped she’d still be by his side then, too.</p><p>    Yeah.  Love was nice.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As always, you can find me:</p><p>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/sakudoesstuff">@sakudoesstuff</a><br/>Tumblr: <a href="https://sakumosowainthirst.tumblr.com">@sakumosowainthirst</a><br/>Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/Y3vrRT3">Claudeleth Server</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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